Leo Goodwin Sr. (1886–1971) was an American businessman and philanthropist best known for founding private auto insurance company

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...

in 1936, with his wife

Lillian Goodwin Lillian Goodwin was an American businesswoman who co-founded private auto insurance company GEICO with her husband Leo Goodwin, Sr. in 1936. She was the mother to Leo Goodwin, Jr. She moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the 1960s. She died in ...

Biography

Goodwin was born in 1886 in Lowndes, Missouri, the son of a country doctor who traveled by horse and buggy to treat his patients. Educated as an accountant, Goodwin entered the insurance business in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. As he became more experienced in the field, Goodwin came to the remarkable insight that the industry could better serve its customers and reduce costs by eliminating sales commissions to producers of premiums and dealing directly with policyholders.

Professional career and GEICO

With this precedent-setting vision in mind, he founded the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) in 1936. With his wife, Lillian, Mr. Goodwin worked 12 hours a day for little or no salary for several years to implement his business dream. In 1940, after operating in the red for several years, the company realized its first profit. In 1948, GEICO became publicly owned and as of 2018 has assets of more than $32 billion. He hammered out the basic business plan during his early career days in Texas. In 1936, Goodwin established GEICO operations in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

By the end of 1936, there were 3,700 GEICO policies in force and a total staff of 12 people. He believed that "if he lowered costs in the company by marketing directly to carefully targeted customer groups, he'd be able to pass along lower premiums and still earn a profit". Leo Goodwin chose to retire in 1958. In 2001, Leo Goodwin was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

named to the

Insurance Hall of Fame The Insurance Hall of Fame, occasionally referred to as the International Insurance Hall of Fame, honors exceptional members of the insurance field. It was created in 1957 and is administered by the global nonprofit International Insurance Society ...

.IIS To Induct Three Into Insurance Hall of Fame
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Philanthropy

Leo Goodwin was a large donor to

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over ...

and is considered one of the primary founders. The building that contains the university's law school, Shepard Broad College of Law, is housed in Leo Goodwin Sr. Hall. In addition, one of the dorms is named the Leo Goodwin Sr. Residence Hall. The Goodwin Foundation sponsors a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

Broward Community College Broward College is a public college based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Miramar, Florida, Pembroke Pines, Florida and Davie, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System, and offers several associate and baccalaureate degree programs. Hi ...

. The Leo Goodwin Sr. Chair in Law was established at Shepard Broad College of Law with an initial gift from the late Leo Goodwin Sr. The Goodwin Chair allows the Law College to invite distinguished legal scholars to spend time in residence, to team-teach a seminar with a member of the Law College faculty, and to interact with the Law College's faculty, students, and alumni.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Leo Sr. 20th-century American businesspeople Nova Southeastern University people 1886 births 1971 deaths GEICO